About Me

Ben Willis from Retro Gaming Goods holding a PlayStation controller

Honest reviews, retro nostalgia and a gaming habit paid for in kilometres.

Player 1 has entered the game

  • Name: Ben Willis
  • Role: Founder and editor, Retro Gaming Goods
  • First console: NES, 1991

About me

I'm Ben, a parent gamer who's been playing since the NES in 1991. Retro Gaming Goods started in 2025 as a way to turn years of collecting into something more: honest reviews and a way to connect with gaming after putting my console into storage.

The Run to Game Challenge

Here's the twist. I don't get to play for free. Every minute of gaming has to be earned on foot, with no exceptions, not even for review games.

🏃 1km run = 10 minutes of gaming

  • 12km run: 2 hours of play
  • 60km run: 10 hours of play
  • 120km run: 20 hours of play, enough for one full review

It keeps me honest in two ways. I'm fitter than I've ever been, and when I say a game is worth your time, I've literally paid for that time in kilometres. For busy parents who have to fight for every gaming hour, that tends to land.

What you'll find here

Reviews: straight talking, no hype, earned one kilometre at a time. Every review includes a score out of 10, a factsheet and the platform it was played on.

News: game announcements, awards and release news, written in our own words.

Retro: features for collectors and anyone who still remembers blowing into a cartridge.

Industry: data-led breakdowns of the news that actually affects what you play.

The Shared Save File: a monthly game club run with @plot_over_pixels. See this month's game.

The audience is mostly parent gamers and collectors: people who know what they like and don't have time to waste on bad games.

The team

  • Ben Willis: founder and editor
  • Chris Law: contributing writer, also behind the Apologies for Saying Too Much Substack
  • Nick: contributing writer, also behind Reviews on Rewind

Working together

I'm open to partnerships that fit Retro Gaming Goods:

  • Game publishers and PR: review code, launches and embargoed coverage
  • Retro hardware and accessories
  • Fitness and running brands. The Run to Game Challenge gives running gear a genuine home in the content, not a tacked-on ad read.

Every partnership is disclosed, and reviews stay honest regardless. Read how we work in our editorial policy.

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